Hi - I'm doing a kitchen extension in a Victorian property. It's been designed by an architect who has stipulated the full spec. I guess I could call my building control person but he's hard to get hold of so I thought I'd post a few queries I have here:
1. Will the officer want to inspect the entire house or just what's being modified/built? (I am a competent DIYer and have done lots of plumbing and electrics myself as I've decorated/modified rooms - will this cause a problem?)
2. I'm converting a disused ground floor ensuite to just a WC (the house was previously a B&B - too many showers!) Does this require ventilation, or being that this is not part of the 'official' kitchen extension/build and may not even be finished before the kitchen is complete, will it come into the equation for being certified. I guess what I'm saying here is I could have chosen to do this minor element of work myself, after the kitchen was done, so would it a certificate?
3. I'm aware that the electrics done prior to us moving in (7 yrs ago) does not comply with regs (goodness knows how it was passed... he was a builder!!) Eg. I know the rewiring was just notched into the joists rather than drilled through - unreal! So, if the answer to no 1 is 'yes', will they want to lift boards to see this and then ask for it all to be rewired? This would be major work!
4. Is there a limit to how far the ducting of bathroom/ en suite ventilation is permitted to be? It's hard to get access to an outside wall in some areas and being a 3 story house the most accessible way is straight to the roof vent via the boxed in soil pipes.
5. My mains fire alarm is flashing as fault (even though it does actually work fine - I've tested it with smoke when I renewed all the detectors) - maybe a panel issue, but seeing as the kitchen will require a detector, will this fail?
Many thanks for any help
1. Will the officer want to inspect the entire house or just what's being modified/built? (I am a competent DIYer and have done lots of plumbing and electrics myself as I've decorated/modified rooms - will this cause a problem?)
2. I'm converting a disused ground floor ensuite to just a WC (the house was previously a B&B - too many showers!) Does this require ventilation, or being that this is not part of the 'official' kitchen extension/build and may not even be finished before the kitchen is complete, will it come into the equation for being certified. I guess what I'm saying here is I could have chosen to do this minor element of work myself, after the kitchen was done, so would it a certificate?
3. I'm aware that the electrics done prior to us moving in (7 yrs ago) does not comply with regs (goodness knows how it was passed... he was a builder!!) Eg. I know the rewiring was just notched into the joists rather than drilled through - unreal! So, if the answer to no 1 is 'yes', will they want to lift boards to see this and then ask for it all to be rewired? This would be major work!
4. Is there a limit to how far the ducting of bathroom/ en suite ventilation is permitted to be? It's hard to get access to an outside wall in some areas and being a 3 story house the most accessible way is straight to the roof vent via the boxed in soil pipes.
5. My mains fire alarm is flashing as fault (even though it does actually work fine - I've tested it with smoke when I renewed all the detectors) - maybe a panel issue, but seeing as the kitchen will require a detector, will this fail?
Many thanks for any help
